Foundations of Psychology Paper

Psychology encompasses a vast range of different thoughts, theories, and biological foundations on behavior of why people act the way they do. Once a part of philosophy, psychology has developed into several schools of thought that describe the theories some of these individuals use to approach what they are observing from different people and their actions. Some of these theories do have conflictions from others, but all have a good amount of validity to their theories. Many things contribute to the biological well being of a person and those things can determine what kind of behavior the person will display. The major schools of thought are introspection, structuralism, functionalism, psychodynamic theory, cognitive theory, and behavioral theory. Introspection was a method in which a person would report anything the person had come across their mind when they were given some kind of stimulus or task to do. Structuralism used introspection to uncover parts of consciousness and how they combine into ideas with one another. Functionalism applied the Darwinian Theory where roles or functions would aid in helping an individual adapt to their environment. The psychodynamic theory has three parts that describe it. The first one is thoughts, feelings, or wishes determine the way person will act. The second one is most of the thoughts a person has come outside of the person’s awareness. The third is that the mental processes may conflict with one another leaving to possible compromises within some of the competing motives of a person. The behavioral theory suggests that there are many things that can stimulate a person such as an object or an event within the person’s environment can control the behavior of a person through learning. The cognitive theory suggests that the perception, process, and the way a person retrieves information allows the person to interact in daily activities. Although all these theories have a specific suggestion on the psychological health of a person, they have had some conflicts that within those who created the theories. According to Uljana Feest, â€Å"Moreover, his contention that something like unconscious sensations/experiences can be invoked as explanatory of other experiences is in clear opposition to Brentano’s view that since mental phenomena, by definition, are conscious, there can be no psychological explanations that make recourse to unconscious mental phenomena. † Most psychologists in modern times use a more eclectic outlook where they use a combination of these theories to observe people. The nervous system has an impact on the biological functions of a person, and it can determine how a person will behave in different ways. The nervous system is made up of different types of neurons, and these neurons are what carry messages back and forth through the body to tell the body to do something, when there is an injury, or many other things. This information carried from the neurons is carried through the central nervous system which is made up of the brain, the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system which maintains the basic survival of a human being. Neurotransmitters are chemicals within the body that transmit information from one neuron to the next. Each neurotransmitter can have a different effect on the person when the chemical is produced such as when serotonin is produced. Serotonin is the chemical the body produces to help the body sleep, in emotional arousal, pain regulation, and mood. There are also other chemicals in the body that allow the body to do other things, and if any of these chemicals are not produced or they are overproduced, they can have an effect on how the person behaves on a daily basis. Receptors also play a role in the transmission of neurotransmitters. They bond together to allow a chemical and electrical balance occur which is called a graded potential. According to Howard C. Warren, â€Å"Behavior is not merely a branch of physiology; its data, responses, are a class of phenomena indicative of neural activity. Mental states or experiences are not merely subjective occurrences; they are somehow conditioned on the operations of the nervous system. † The reasons behind what makes people behave the way they do will still be a science that will not have an absolute answer to. There are theories that suggest different views to why people act the way they do, but those theories are just what they mean. They do provide some sort of understanding, and when put together, make much more sense to use in understanding human behavior. Biological features also play a major role in human behavior, and they too provide psychologists with ways to help understand humans along with the different theories. Feest Uljana,(2011) pg. 5, Introspection as a Method and Introspection as a Feature of Consciousness, retrieved from Ebscohost: http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9694d08f-b9f8-420d-903c-00aadade28ff%40sessionmgr113&vid=12&hid=115 Warren, Howard C., pg. 250; Psychology And The Centralnervous System, retrieved from Ebschost: http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9694d08f-b9f8-420d-903c-00aadade28ff%40sessionmgr113&vid=20&hid=115

What Is the History of Easter

If Easter is a holiday that was created because of Jesus, then where did all the eggs and bunnies come from? Well, as I have said many, many times before, Christianity is based on much older religious texts. (Many of which were destroyed to keep the origins of Christianity a secret. Hence why they've burned so many libraries throughout history) If you want to know the long, drawn out history of Easter, then I shall share it below. Easter History : Christian and Pagan Traditions Interwoven The history of Easter reveals rich associations between the Christian faith and the seemingly unrelated practices of the early pagan religions.Easter history and traditions that we practice today evolved from pagan symbols, from the ancient goddess Ishtar to Easter eggs and the Easter bunny. Easter, perhaps the most important of the Christian holidays, celebrates the Christ's resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday. . . a rebirth that is commemorated around the vernal equinox, historically a time of pagan celebration that coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the arrival of light and the awakening of life around us. Ostara, Goddess of Spring and the Dawn (Oestre / Eastre)Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. Our words for the â€Å"female hormone† estrogen derives from her name. Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human.The rabbit (well known for its propensity for rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal. Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to express appreciation for Ostara's gift of abundance. History of Easter Eggs and Easter Candy The history of Easter Eggs as a symbol of new life should come as no surprise.The notion that the Earth itself was hatched from an egg was once widespread and appears in creation stories ranging from Asian to Ireland. Eggs, in ancient times in Northern Europe, were a potent symbol of fertility and often used in rituals to guarantee a woman's ability to bear children. To this day rural â€Å"grannywomen† (lay midwives/healers in the Appalachian mountains) still use eggs to predict, with uncanny accuracy, the sex of an unborn child by watching the rotation of an egg as it is suspended by a string over the abdomen of a pregnant woman.Dyed eggs are given as gifts in many cultures. Decorated eggs bring with them a wish for the prosperity of the abundance during the coming year. Folklore suggests that Easter egg hunts arose in Europe during â€Å"the Burning Times†, when the rise of Christianity led to the shunning (and persecution) of the followers of the â€Å"Old Religion†. Instead of giving the eggs as gifts the adults made a game of hiding them, gathering the children together and encouraging them to find the eggs.Some believe that the authorities seeking to find the â€Å"heathens† would follow or bribe the children to reveal where they found the eggs so that the property owner could be brought to justice. Green Eggs . . . . . . and Ham The meat that is traditionally associated with Easter is ham. Though some might argue that ham is served at Easter since it is a â€Å"Christian† meat, (prohibited for others by the religious laws of Judaism and Islam) the origin probably lies in the early pr actices of the pagans of Northern Europe.Having slaughtered and preserved the meat of their agricultural animals during the Blood Moon celebrations the previous autumn so they would have food throughout the winter months, they would celebrate the occasion by using up the last of the remaining cured meats. In anticipation that the arrival of spring with its emerging plants and wildlife would provide them with fresh food in abundance, it was customary for many pagans to begin fasting at the time of the vernal equinox, clearing the â€Å"poisons† (and excess weight) produced by the heavier winter meals that had been stored in their bodies over the winter.Some have suggested that the purpose of this fasting may have been to create a sought-after state of â€Å"altered consciousness† in time for the spring festivals. One cannot but wonder if this practice of fasting might have been a forerunner of â€Å"giving up† foods during the Lenten season. Chocolate Easter bunn ies and eggs, marshmallow chicks in pastel colors, and candy of all sorts, most of which are given out as personalized gifts during Easter . . . these have pagan origins as well! To understand their association with religion we need to examine the meaning of food as a symbol.The ancient belief that, by eating something we take on its characteristics formed the basis for the earliest â€Å"blessings† before meals (a way to honor the life that had been sacrificed so that we as humans could enjoy life) and, presumably, for the more recent Christian sacrament of communion as well. Shaping candy Easter eggs and bunnies to celebrate the spring festival was, simply put, a way to celebrate the symbols of the goddess and the season, while laying claim to their strengths (vitality, growth, and fertility) for ourselves.The Goddess Ostara and the Easter Bunny Feeling guilty about arriving late one spring, the Goddess Ostara saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow. She made him her pet or, as some versions have it, her lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly (in some versions, it was because she wished to amuse a group of young children), Ostara turned him into a snow hare and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so he could protect himself from hunters.In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs (in all the colors of the rainbow, no less), but only on one day out of each year. Eventually the hare managed to anger the goddess Ostara, and she cast him into the skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare) forever positioned under the feet of the constellation Orion (the Hunter). He was allowed to return to earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring. The tradition of the Easter Bunny had begun.The Hare was sacred in many ancient traditions and was associated with the moon goddesses and the various deities of the hunt. In ancient times eating the Hare was prohibited except at Beltane (Celts) and the festival of Ostara (Anglo-Saxons), when a ritual hare-hunt would take place. In many cultures rabbits, like eggs, were considered to be potent remedies for fertility problems. The ancient philosopher-physician Pliny the Elder prescribed rabbit meat as a cure for female sterility, and in some cultures the genitals of a hare were carried to avert barrenness.Medieval Christians considered the hare to bring bad fortune, saying witches changed into rabbits in order to suck the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be killed by a silver crucifix or a bullet when she appeared as a hare. Given their â€Å"mad† leaping and boxing displays during mating season as well as their ability to produce up to 42 offspring each spring, it is understandable that they came to represent lust, sexuality, and excess in general.Medie val Christians considered the hare to be an evil omen, believing that witches changed into rabbits in order to suck the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be killed by a silver crucifix or a bullet when she appeared as a hare. In later Christian tradition the white Hare, when depicted at the Virgin Mary's feet, represents triumph over lust or the flesh. The rabbit's vigilance and speed came to represent the need to flee from sin and temptation and a reminder of the swift passage of life.And, finally, there is a sweet Christian legend about a young rabbit who, for three days, waited anxiously for his friend, Jesus, to return to the Garden of Gethsemane, not knowing what had become of him. Early on Easter morning, Jesus returned to His favorite garden and was welcomed the little rabbit. That evening when the disciples came into the garden to pray, still unaware of the resurrection, they found a clump of beautiful larkspurs, each blossom bearing the image of a rabbit in i ts center as a remembrance of the little creature's hope and faith.Ishtar, Goddess of Love, and the First Resurrection (also known as Inanna) Ishtar, goddess of romance, procreation, and war in ancient Babylon, was also worshipped as the Sumerian goddess Inanna. One of the great goddesses, or â€Å"mother goddesses†, the stories of her descent to the Underworld and the resurrection that follows are contained in the oldest writings that have ever been discovered. . . the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish and the story of Gilgamesh. Scholars believed that they were based on the oral mythology of the region and were recorded about 2,100 B.C. E. The most famous of the myths of Ishtar tell of her descent into the realm of the dead to rescue her young lover, Tammuz, a Vegetation god forced to live half the year in the Underworld. Ishtar approached the gates of the Underworld, which was ruled by her twin sister Eresh-kigel, the goddess of death and infertility. She was refused ad mission. Similar to the Greek myths of Demeter and Persephone that came later, during Ishtar's absence the earth grew barren since all acts of procreation ceased while she was away.Ishtar screamed and ranted that she would break down the gates and release all of the dead to overwhelm the world and compete with the living for the remaining food unless she was allowed to enter and plead her case with her twin. Needless to say, she won admission. But the guard, following standard protocol, refused to let her pass through the first gate unless she removed her crown. At the next gate, she had to remove her earrings, then her necklace at the next, removing her garments and proud finery until she stood humbled and naked after passing through the seventh (and last) gate.In one version, she was held captive and died but was brought back to life when her servant sprinkled her with the â€Å"water of life†. In the more widely known version of the myth, Ishtar's request was granted and s he regained all of her attire and possessions as she slowly re-emerged through the gates of darkness. Upon her return, Tammuz and the earth returned to life. Annual celebrations of this â€Å"Day of Joy†, were held each year around the time of the vernal equinox.These celebrations became the forerunners of the Ostara festivals that welcomed Oestre and the arrival of spring. A section on the Goddess Inanna (the Sumerian version of the Goddess Ishtar), her myths and symbols, is included with the myths of the goddesses at this website. Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, the dawn that arrives with resurrection of life, and the celebration of spring all serve to remind us of the cycle of rebirth and the need for renewal in our lives. In the history of Easter, Christian and pagan traditions are gracefully interwoven.

Exploring Deborah Tannen’s “Sex, Lies, and Conversation

Miscommunications Deborah Tannen’s â€Å"Sex, Lies, and Conversation† is a brief look at how men and women communicate with one another and the cross-culture differences between their individual styles and needs for conversation. Women often say that men do not listen or do not want to talk. Tannen gives reasons why women tend to believe that men are not listening, and shows that just because men have a different approach to communicating does not mean they are not listening to what women are saying.She uses several different examples to back up her statements including early childhood differences in communication between girls and boys, the body language men use and how women tend to interpret it, and how women tend to receive information while communicating. Men and women have very different expectations when it comes to communicating with one another. The way women converse varies greatly from the way men tend to converse. Even young girls and boys have very differen t ways of communicating with one another.Young children tend to play with other children of the same gender, and the boys and girls tend to have completely different social interactions with one another. Tannen states that â€Å"these systematic differences in childhood socialization make talk between women and men like cross-cultural communication, heir to all the attraction and pitfalls of that enticing but difficult enterprise (51). † We see in women and in young girls, talk creates intimacy and intimacy creates friendships, but men and boys tend to bond more on doing things with one another rather than talking to each other.Even the stance men take when talking varies from a woman’s. Women tend to think men are not listening to them based on the position men take when carrying on a conversation. Most women, when talking, tend to look one another in the eye. Men on the other hand tend to look around the room, occasionally catching a glance at the person they are con versing with. Women also tend to stay on one topic for longer periods of time than men. Women are also active listeners and tend to â€Å"make more listener-noise, such as ‘mhm,’ uhuh,’ and ‘yeah,’ to show ‘I’m with you’ (53). Men tend to be more silent listeners. All these misinterpretations of communication tend to drive a wedge between men and women. A big reason communication fails between men and women is a lack of understanding the different ways in which men and women communicate. When women expect the person they are communicating with to face them directly, make listener-noises, and stay on topic, it is easy to see how they view men’s unfocused attention, silent listening, and scattered topics as men not listening to what they are saying. These differences begin to clarify why women and men have such different expectations about communication in marriage (54). † Women use talk as a form a gossip, where men a re usually more antagonistic in conversation. Women tend to be offended by the oppositional form of communication, and men find the random babblings of a woman to be useless and unimportant. Understanding these differences as cross-cultural rather than individual can help forge solutions to these problems without placing blame on the individual. Communication between men and women is certainly cross-cultural.Some examples of this theory are early childhood differences in communication between girls and boys, the body language men use and how women tend to interpret it, and how women tend to receive information while communicating. The differences between men and women should not be judged but rather accepted and respected. If they can do that, improvement in our communication will surely follow. Men and women will always communicate differently, but at least if they understand the differences they can move forward. ? Work Cited Tannen, Deborah. â€Å"Sex, Lies, and Conversation. â €  The Norton Mix. Ed. Sieg, Judy. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. Print.

Logistics management assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Logistics management assignment - Essay Example The fruit juices remained a regional delicacy and were served at costlier establishments or meant for special occasions. During the second half of the twentieth century interest in fruit juices revived mainly due to factors that they too became available in better packaging, competitively priced, a far greater variety for all tastes and above all was considered healthier especially by people engaged in sports. Diet consciousness grew among the general population and the youth among them considered this as an essential supplement for nutrients they needed for energy needs of the fast pace of life and the rigours of exercise. The one factor that packaged fruit juices lagged behind in was its relatively smaller shelf life. Further this was what is known as the Ambient variety that could be stored, displayed and sold off the ordinary shelf. In such conditions the taste would normally change over a period of time as it was exposed to vagaries of weather and temperature. To overcome this factor the concept of Chilled Juices was introduced. This involved different production and packaging techniques that added to the shelf life as well as preserved the taste of the product for a much longer time. Although this did not yet match the longer shelf life of the cola’s, yet it was a vast improvement and an inducement for its sale. The worldwide popularity of the cola’s and similarly packaged carbonated drinks was not just the low price and the packaging; it was the easy availability of the product almost any where in the world. Since cola’s were mass produced and mass consumed it was possible to set up plants across the globe to make them available closer to their respective markets. The main ingredients were the cola concentrates that could be mass produced at the mother plant and shipped across to subsidiaries to be converted into the carbonated drinks. The logistics over smaller area around each plant was possible through local transportation. The trucks

Credit Agricole a multi-channel mutual bank Case Study

Credit Agricole a multi-channel mutual bank - Case Study Example She had developed trust in the bank through her long time financial advisor. In going back to ask for the mortgage, Pauline was a little bit disappointed when she found that her financial advisor had moved 3 months ago. Even though she accepted that reality, she still went forth to seek services of the bank without comparing to other banks. Pauline and Louis were disappointed with the initial interest rate offered to them by Bernard, which was 5.5 interest rate plus insurance. The two had hoped to bargain an insurance rate less than 5.5% based on having a long customer loyalty history. This was not the case as the prices were reached by simulation software and any cut not allowed. Pauline was shocked to get a phone call after cutting a deal with Bernard of paying the mortgage at 5.5% interest rate plus insurance, though she was realized the same bank had an ongoing promotion of 4.8 % which had been reserved to outbound call-center campaign. Pauline was disappointed when Bernard pretended not to know such a service existed, though later called her and gave her the mortgage at 4.8% interest rate. Pauline found that service delivery by the people in the bank to be slow. Before getting an appointment to Bernard, it took her 2 attempt to get a chance. The call center advisor was slow in responding to crucial questions and making arrangements. In addition, Bernard was not available at some point to see Pauline, though she was at his office. Bernard took days to reply to Pauline’s requests and messages. The financial advisors, Bernard appeared not to have coordinated with well will the call center advisors since they had different information about what Pauline should get for her mortgage. The service which Pauline received was not upto standard like the way she had expected. The process of getting the mortgage took a very long time, and it had a lot of uncertainties and conflicting figures

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 24

Report - Essay Example He provides examples of early studies such as the Technology Acceptance Model developed by Davis in 1989 meant to provide explanations of the behavioral intention of a potential user in technological innovation (He and Lee, 2012). They continue to provide the example of the 1991 study by Compeau and Higgins who based their investigation of people’s perspectives on technology adoption on diffusion of innovations (He and Lee, 2012). Despite previous studies, the authors indicate that a solid conclusion concerning the different attitudes between the male and female use of information technology systems remains elusive. Most studies only offer significant and insignificant conclusions about the matter. The article insists that gender is a significant demographic factor that influences an individual’s reaction to technology. The study in the article utilizes self-efficacy as the main dependent variable for two reasons. Self-efficacy is a core element of social cognitive theory and is recognized as a major factor that regulates an individual’s computer habits. Secondly, fundamental state of psychology directs the attitude and decisions made in IT adoption by influencing factors like the perception of ease of use. The study then uses the variable to test the impact of the learning process on gender and the formation of attitudes that affects an individual’s confidence in the use of computers. Self-efficacy defines the personal belief of an individual in his ability to complete a task. The findings indicate that women’s self-efficacy in the use of computers in less than that of men. The female students in the study had limited computer knowledge and fewer computing interactions. Additionally, they were more likely to have high anxiety levels about computer usage compared to the male st udents. Finally, compared to male students,

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 22

Art - Essay Example The sky is clearer on the left background than any other part of the image. This indicates that the sun is either rising or setting on that side of the image. The left side of the river is darker from the foreground to background than the right side of the river. This is because the buildings on the left side of the river cast their shadows on the right side of the river bank. The buildings are not, however, tall enough to cast their shadows up to the ground the boats are parked. There are about fifteen boats on the right side of the river, which are painted white and blue. They all reflect the dim light of the sun, while casting their shadows on the water. The boats on the foreground reflect more light than the boats far away in the background. The left side of the river bank is steeper than the right side. This is the reason why no boat is parked on the right side of the river bank. In the middle of the image, there is a river. The water is clear and very still. Part of the water that is in the foreground reflects more light than the part on the background of the image. There are trees that are standing still on both sides of the river banks. The trees are evenly distributed on both sides of the river from the foreground to the background. The sky appears darker on the foreground than the background of the image. The background of the sky is yellow in color, indicating that more sunlight is casted into the sky on the background than the fore ground. The sun is either rising or setting on the background of the paper. This is the reason why the sky on the foreground is darker as compared to the background. A tent and a building are located on the right background of the image. They are not clearly visible due to the tall trees standing between them and the river bank. The sun is on the left middle ground of the paper, and the tall trees cast their shadows directly on the building and the tent, making them less visible

Romantic Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Romantic Literature - Essay Example The evolution of the style of romantic literature was borne out of the need of many writers to express their inner thoughts in a way that is characterized by freedom, imagination, as well as creativity, without the impediment of following normal human logic. As a result, many romantic works such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto bear situations that are not realistic, even during the time that these works were published. While these two works are entirely different, one is a poem while the other is a novel, what ties these two together is the creation of suspense as far as the main characters of the stories or narratives are concerned. The succession of events may not be as clear as logic to predict, thus adding a sense of uncertainty to what could possibly happen to the protagonists, the antagonists, or both. In the course of this analysis, these two important works from the Romanticist era of litera ture would be used to illustrate how the combination of the use of imaginary settings as well as adding a feeling of uncertainty in behalf of the characters not only appeal to the senses of the readers but also draw them into their lives and shoes, as well as being able to see the triumphs, the losses, and other emotions of the cast as real emotions that are valid in their given situations. Real Emotions in Surreal Situations In comparing the first chapter of The Castle of Otranto to the summary of the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, it can be seen that the settings of the narratives are surreal or even imaginary. However, the characters are portrayed as ordinary people, without any superpowers or whatnot. This puts real people in unreal or surreal situations. In the case of the Ancient Mariner and the rest of the crew of the ship, they felt real terror when they saw the ghost ship with Death and Night-mare Life-in-Death: Are those her ribs through which the Sun Did peer, as t hrough a grate? And is that Woman all her crew Is that a Death? And are there two? Is Death that woman’s mate? (Coleridge 11). The writer vividly described the people or apparitions aboard the appearing ship in order to help the reader visualize the passengers of the ghost ship. A few lines after the description of the passengers of the ghost ship came the terror that the mariner and his shipmates felt after Death and Night-mare Life-in-Death decided which souls they would take as their own, We listened and looked sideways up! Fear at my heart, as at a cup My life-blood seemed to sip! (Coleridge 11). To put it bluntly, the mariner felt as if his blood has totally drained away after hearing that the souls of all passengers of their marooned ship would be taken away. It can be likened to how a person would feel when facing immediate danger or seeing it approach, where time seems to stand still and it would feel like there is no other choice but to die. The same feeling of terro r is also depicted in the character Isabella when she was being pursued by Prince Manfred in the first chapter of The Castle of Otranto: â€Å"Words cannot paint the horror of the Princess’

All My Sons by Arthur Miller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

All My Sons by Arthur Miller - Essay Example This essay will describe how issues of morality and politics affected the main characters, how Miller employed the fundamental elements of drama to create a modern play on par with older Greek tragedies, and some personal observations. As an initial matter, it is important to note that competing political and moral belief systems were instrumental in the development of the main characters. An examination of the father and sons is useful. The father, Joe Keller, was by all accounts a family-oriented man. He loved and provided for his sons. Indeed, as the play demonstrates, Joe believed it to be his highest moral responsibility to take care of and provide material support for his family. Money was important according to his realistic view of the world and of his own role in the world. His sons, Chris and Larry, provide a sharp contrast to the father's philosophical underpinnings. Both are of an idealistic bent. Family, to be sure, is important, but both have deeply ingrained notions of a deeper social obligation to their country and to other individuals in their country. In this case, involving the sale of damaged airplane parts to the United States government, the play was set from the beginning to elicit different and competing responses from the main characters. Joe, as the practical family ma... His sons were Chris and Larry. Other fathers had to worry about their own sons. Chris and Larry, on the other hand, because of their different notions of social obligation and honor, could never accept such a narrowly tailored and self-serving justification. For them, both veterans of WW II, social obligation was a more comprehensive duty which transcended temporary financial windfalls or the isolated survival of an individual family. Sons, from their point of view, might have been defined as American soldiers, as American citizens, or as allies more generally around the world. Because of these broader beliefs in social duty, both were unable to accept their father's complicity in the sale of the damaged parts. Larry committed suicide by crashing his airplane and Chris threatened to abandon his heritage by leaving the factory and his father. In the final analysis, these characters were defined by their views of the world. Their actions and their decisions adhered to these philosophical characterizations and the reader cannot imagine that they could have behaved much differently than Miller scripted them to act. These three are philosophies as much as they are people. 1.2 How Miller Used the Elements of Drama to Effectively Emphasize his Themes This play is nothing if not a tragedy. It is tragic because well-intentioned people suffered tragic fates. Miller highlighted this feeling of tragedy by creating and adhering to a dramatic structure which created both a feeling of empathy and a feeling of disgust. There was empathy for individuals and disgust for certain actions; more particularly, the dramatic structure employed by Miller vested the main characters with believable motivations and their consequent actions with realistic results. The

Marketing - Service Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing - Service Marketing - Essay Example Dividing the various services encounters into two sections of â€Å"satisfying† and â€Å"dissatisfying† experiences, let’s start with the first encounter experience at the Ice Bar in London. Our experience at the Ice Bar in London was average because we were kept waiting for 20 minutes. Once entered in the specified area, we got the feeling of cramped in an overcrowded space without any seating arrangement. Staff strength was minimal to attend to the large crowd although their smiling faces reduced our level of dissatisfaction. The management should add more aesthetic elements to the bar so that it does not remain a one-time visit. Overall, the experience at Ice Bar was disappointing, as it failed on the parameters of prompt service. The queues were long to get entry in the Ice Bar, leading to dissatisfaction. Assaf and Magnini (2012) have conducted statistical analysis of customer satisfaction in hotel efficiency, which indicates that if customer satisfaction i s not given due importance, it can lead to huge difference in the mean and ranking of hotel efficiency scores. Efficiency measures can help a hotel in attaining its objective of providing satisfaction to customers, which is minutely related to planning, organizing, decision-making and information seeking by managers. Customer satisfaction has been used as an output variable in the modelling of hotel efficiency. In the past, critical variable used to be revenue and number of rooms rented out. It is derived from the gathered data of American Customer Satisfaction Index that a firm’s efficiency level among its competitors can be affected if customer satisfaction as an indicator is excluded from the modelling. This fact is proved in the case of Wyndham Hotel and Resorts, which stood on the fourth rank out of eight competitors in an efficiency model that did not include customer satisfaction data but came on seventh number when the model included satisfaction as an output. The con cept that customer satisfaction can have a great impact in efficiency modelling has robust theoretical underpinnings in the marketing literature. It derives that satisfaction has a powerful connection with loyalty, which transforms into reduction in the cost of future dealings, diminishes price elasticity, builds a service failure stock, and cuts down on the negative publicity through word-of-mouth (Assaf and Magnini, 2012). The study by Assaf and Magnini (2012) can help hotel businesses to decide drivers of efficiency by analyzing both inputs and outputs of the model, the inputs being the number of outlets, number of full time employees, and operational expenses while customer satisfaction, income, and occupancy rate are taken as outputs. On the lines of Hotel Marriot, other hotels should organize cross-training of their employees to reduce a model input such as staff strength and boost the output in the form of customer satisfaction. It proves the effectiveness of efficiency model at managerial level, focusing on the capacity of a hotel firm to cross-train to enhance customer satisfaction level besides other outputs such as income and occupancy rates. Writing on my dissatisfying experiences, the transportation encounter with the EasyJet was not satisfying because the personnel at the airport were not fully informed about situations and their handling. Additional time was wasted unnecessarily. Seats were small and uncomfortable.

Macbeth Analysis Essay Example for Free

Macbeth Analysis Essay In the beginning Macbeth starts out as a successful and respected warrior, who leads King Duncans army. Then his life starts to go downhill for him when he decides to follow to a witches prophecy. His wife Lady Macbeth pressures him to kill Duncan while he is staying at the Macbeths castle. At first, Macbeths ambitions overcome his doubts and hesitations, but later both he and his wife are driven to insanity by their guilt. Macbeth then goes on to kill suspicious Banquo, and he also plans to kill Macduff, who too has his own suspicions about Macbeth. Macbeth is not in the right state of mind to grieve when his wife dies from her mental anguish. Finally, Macduff kills Macbeth in battle, and Malcolm becomes the new king. The context of our key scene (Act 2, Scene 3) is about Duncans murder by Macbeth. Macbeth has his own strong motivations not to kill Duncan, but is pushed and pressurised into it by the witches and Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth gives her husband advice to look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it, which means he must be vicious inside but appear innocent on the outside to the rest of the characters, which they have to do even after the murder. There is a sense of suspense, such as, how will the thanes react to the murder? Will Macbeth get away with it forever? And will his plan be successful? Act 2, Scene 3 is about the aftermath of King Duncans murder by Macbeth. It begins with a rather comic interlude, where a drunken Porter is roaming about in Macbeths castle and is speaking nonsense, with ironic mentions about hell. He opens the door to Macbeth and Lennox, and they go to the quarters where they find that Duncan is dead. Lennox and others are genuinely shocked, whilst guilty Macbeth babbles too much about the situation, and even his wife makes it slightly look as if she is more concerned about her house than the kings death. Sly Lady Macbeth turns the attention and suspicion away from her husband by fainting. Duncans sons Malcolm and Donaldbain fear for their lives and run away to neighbouring countries. Both our main characters develop in similar and different ways. Macbeth has constant doubts about the murder, then immediately feels shameful after he commits it. Both he and his wife struggle to talk without dropping small suspicious clues, but lady Macbeth mainly manages to keep them out of suspicion. Macbeths sense of guilt leads to panic, as he is forced to be deceptive to cover up his crime. There is hesitation in his speech, and guilty remorse is revealed through his actions. Although he was pushed by his wife to kill Duncan, he wasnt inspired by anyone to kill the guards. He is forced to take action to control the situation, and feels he has to keep killing because there is no going back. He is starting to experience with the consequences, like the poison chalice. Up until now, Lady Macbeth has been the prime mover, but is now beginning to crumble and is no longer the strong person that she was. She does show some human sensitivity in her, even if she is evil. She has a genuine wifely devotion and loyalty to her husband. Also, she knows that she cant go very far in the world of that era because she is a woman, so she is getting close to somewhere high through Macbeth. Lady Macbeth may be sad and evil partly due to losing her child, compared to Lady Macduff, who has children and seems to be a nicer, calmer person. In this play, we can see the theme of appearance vs. reality, as the Macbeth couple are forced to conceal the guilty reality of their crime by putting on innocent appearances. It was Lady Macbeth who quoted the image of appearing like the innocent flower, but being the serpent under it, by which she meant to be brutal but act innocent. There are images with references to heaven and hell, such as when the drunken porter appears to be talking nonsense, but his words actually make some sense. Some of his quotes include if a man were a porter of hell-gate and whos there in the name of Beelzebub?, which seems to link in with the evil deed that Macbeth has just committed. Macbeths act of killing the king is called regicide, which leads to confused events. To kill a king was seen as damnable because it was removing Gods representative on earth. Macbeths image of the fountain being stopped (by him, which he doesnt make obvious) shows an interference with the Divine Right of Kings, a belief that royalty is passed down in the family. As with most tragedies, betrayal is very prominent in this play. He betrays his guest and king Duncan by killing him instead of protecting him. We see the use of iambic pentameter, and this is when a line follows a certain rhythmic pattern, such as confusion now hath made his masterpiece. We can see a tragic structure in the play of Macbeth. Firstly, as with most tragedies, he falls from an elevated position to a tragic demise. At the beginning of the play he is a war hero, but after some bad influences and wrong choices, becomes disgraced, isolated, and finally killed. Macbeths fall is seen in this scene when he kills innocent people to cover up his first murder; he declines into insanity and loses control of the situation. He has an internal conflict between the benign and malign sides to his characters. His benign side is telling him not to do the murder, then after it happens he thinks if I could turn back time, wishing he had not done it after all. Then there is his malign ambition to be king and become powerful no matter what, and to listen to the bad advice of Lady Macbeth and the witches. There is the prominent theme of betrayal, which Arthur Miller of A View from the Bridge said is the key to many tragedies. Macbeth betrays many people such as Duncan, by not protecting him as his host, Banquo, by also killing him, Macduff, by giving orders for his family to be killed, God, by removing his designated representative on earth, Scotland, by leaving it in a political vacuum, and even himself, for sinking so low. He lies a lot to conceal his guilt and murder. There is an overwhelming sense of wasted potential. Many characters such as Duncan, Banquo, and even Macbeth himself should all have lived peaceful, happy, contented lives, but Macbeth spoils it for all of them. There is also the chance that Macbeth could have become king honourably without the need to kill. Also, Malcolm could have become king earlier without the chaos which leaves Scotland unsettled, and the political vacuum. In this scene we see Macbeth become an independent murderer without influence from anyone. He is visibly a deceitful liar, and there are many beginnings of chaos. The events of our key scene (Act 2, Scene 3) leave us questioning what will happen next and wanting to know more. This is how Shakespeare evokes suspense in the play of Macbeth. After Macbeth commits the terrible murder, we are left wondering what will happen to the state of Macbeths mind, as we later find out that his increasing insanity finally finishes him off. We wonder if the Macbeth couple will ever be found out of their wicked conspiracy. Although they do not get caught by country officials, they see the suspicions from Banquo and Macduff. We could even say that the Macbeths punish themselves in a way, by having to face the guilt-ridden consequences of their actions. From the beginning, Lady Macbeth has been the more prominent partner in the relationship, but her mental decline seems to affect her quicker than Macbeth, even to the point that she dies and he does not seem to care much. Going back to the murders aftermath, there is the question of who will be the new king, and what will happen to Scotland from this point. We, as the audience, are waiting to find out what happens next, and see that some of our questions are answered, and some are not, (like, what exactly happened to Lady Macbeths child that she had vaguely mentioned?).

Texting and driving Essay Example for Free

Texting and driving Essay I think texting and driving is dangerous and whether or not it has affected you as of now, statistics show it could in the future. Did you know that texting while driving is now one of the most common distractions that take a driver’s eyes off the road today? Imagine if someone in your family, your mom, dad, or sibling were killed by a driver who was texting, how would you feel? Would you think, was that text really worth losing a life over? I am going to show you that texting while driving is never a good idea and can have dangerous and deadly consequences’ for that individual. Problem: Texting while driving kill’s people on a daily basis. Recent statistics from 2009 show that 5,474 people in the United States were killed due to texting. This was a significant increase from 2007 when 3,210 people were killed in accidents where drivers were texting.(http://www.stoptextsstopwrecks.org/#facts) Teenagers are the most experienced drivers and when they read or write a text it compounds their likely hood of having a fatal accident. Statistics bears this out with this age group when texting and driving 45% of their accidents resulted in death. The Allstate Foundation’s recent survey showed that 82% of teens report texting while driving, while only 23% admit to drinking and driving which shows how common this practice is for this age group. According to data collected by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on (http://www.textndrive.com/, more teenagers die on May 20 than any other day of the year. Over the past five years, May 20 claimed 63% more lives than any average day because of prom and other end of the school year celebrations II. Cause: Driving and texting is considered a multi-tasked skill that increases the output of the driver’s brain causing distractions to our cognitive functions, memory, visual fields, and manually. The first way that texting interferes with drivers is through the brain’s cognitive functions that allow for multi-tasking. Driver’s attention span is split between what’s going on in the road and what’s happening on their cell phone, and this lack of focus makes them a liability for other drivers. Most people do not have the cognitive skills to manage two different multi-tasked processes at once.  This causes individuals brains to process too much mentally, making the information that is received unclear and hard for them to react quickly to events happening in their surroundings. Second way that texting interferes with driving is through memory. a. Memory is when the brain engages in a constant process that sends. III. Solution: There are many solutions to this problem and I will list a few: Unless you are on a long road trip, put your phone away until you arrive at your destination, if you have to text just pull over for a few minutes. There are apps for most phones that you can use to prevent if you are tempted to text while you are driving called anti-texting apps that can be utilized. If you are on a trip with more than yourself, designate a person that will be the texter, if you are driving have your passenger text for you so you can concentrate on the road. Silence your phone if you are one who has to look at your phone for every noise it makes. I have just taken you through the problems with texting and driving. Provided you with the statistics and presented you with possible dangers of texting and driving. I have given you alternatives to not only keep you safe but to also keep others safe too. Laws are being enacted due to the public outcry and most states are on board with legislation punishing drivers that text. But that would be a drop in the bucket should you be distracted and injure or kill someone when it could have been avoided. I hope that I have convinced you to join me in educating people to change their driving habits†¦ Silence can saves lives. References: BIBLIOGRAPHY \* MERGEFORMAT Stop the Texys Stop the Wrecks. (2014). From Stoptextsstopwrecks: www.stoptextstopwrecks.org www.stoptextstopwrecks.org. (2014). From www.stoptextstopwrecks.org www.textndrive.com. (2014). From www.textndrive.com: www.textndrive.com/wordpress/2010/05/may-20-is-deadliest-day-for-american-teen-drivers/ Here is the link to my Persuasive speech: http://youtu.be/dgCanjzytFs

Vodafone Group Management of Market Risks

Vodafone Group Management of Market Risks What is the role played by options, futures and forward contracts in managing market risks? The research critically analyzes this through the case study of Vodafone Group Plc. It first identifies the various factors that determine these risks since market risk includes different types of risks like commodity price risks, interest rate fluctuations risks and currency risks. Through the case study, it further aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using above derivatives, in managing market risks. By considering the portfolio of company designed to hedge a particular amount of risk; the research also aims to critically evaluate the individual contributions of each of the above in risk management and also of the portfolio as whole. Introduction: Oxford dictionary defines risk as a situation involving exposure to danger or expose (someone or something valued) to danger, harm, or loss (Oxford Dictionary). For a business entity Risks are connected to possible uncertainties that can result in negative effect on the entity. With the emergence of World Markets and various types of risks, risk management has become an integrated part of firms today. Different types of risks require different methods to handle, prevent or sometimes to absorb and benefit from risks. The downfall of risks has always been highlighted however they do have some arbitrage that results in potential gains. The Basel Committee that was formed in 1974 laid the regulatory framework for Financial Risk Management. (McNeil, Frey and Embrechts, 2005). Basel II (2001) defines Financial Risk Management to be formed of 4 steps: identification of risks into market, credit, operational and other risks; assessment of risks using data and risk model; monitoring and reporting of risk assessments on a timely basis and controlling these identified risks by senior management.'(Alexander, 2005). It thus determines the probability of a negative event taking place and its effects on the entity. Once identified risk can be treated in following manners: Eliminated altogether by simple business practices. These are the risks that are detrimental to the business entity. Transferred to other participants. Actively managed at firm level. (Alexander, 1996). The risks basically depend on the time value of assets. Moreover with the increased level of multinational functioning of business entities and the highly volatile nature of markets, risk management has now become a critical part of running the business. It therefore becomes essential to understand as well as analyze the various factors that determine risks and the preventive measures implemented against them. Also the hedging techniques being considered do not always ensure profits. The research would thereby include a detail study of the effectiveness of the methods implemented. One more important factor is the cost incurred. Risk management incurs certain costs and the process would therefore prove to be futile if the costs incurred don’t offer proportionally benefits. Literature Review: Market Risk constitutes of commodity risk, interest risk and currency risks. Commodity price risk includes the potential change in the price of a commodity. The rising or falling commodity prices affect the producers, traders and the end-users of the various commodities. Moreover if they are traded in foreign currency, there arises the risk of currency exchange rate. These are normally hedged by offering forward or future contracts at fixed rates. This is especially important for commodities like oil, natural gas, gold, electricity etc whose prices are highly volatile in nature. (Berk and Demarzo, 2010) Interest Risk relates to the change in interest rates of bonds, stocks or loans. A rising rate of interest would effectively reduce the price of a bond. Increased interest rates result in increasing the borrowing costs of the firm and thereby reduce its profitability. It is hedged by swaps or by investing in short term securities. Currency risks arise from the exceedingly volatile exchange rates between the currencies of different countries. For e.g. Airbus, an aircraft manufacturing company based in France requires oil for its production. Oil being traded in US dollars and the company doing trading in Euros, has a foreign exchange risk. It would be therefore beneficial for Airbus to enter a forward contract with its oil suppliers. Options are another way of hedging against currency risks. (Berk and Demarzo, 2010). Forward contracts, Futures and Options are called the Financial Derivatives and are used largely to reduce market risks. Walsh David (1995) explains that if two securities have same payoffs in future, they must have same price today. Thus the value of a derivative moves in the same way as that of underlying asset. This is called arbitrage. Hedging of risks is nothing but the holder of an asset has two positions in opposite directions. One is of the derivative and opposite position is on the under-lying asset respectively. As such if the value if the asset decreases then value of the derivative will also decrease. But the change in value is off-set by the opposite positions to each other. Thus risk is reduced. This is called hedging. Long Hedge refers when an investor anticipates increase in market price and therefore buys future contracts. Short Hedge is when an investor already has a futures contract and expects the value of asset to fall and therefore sells it beforehand. (Dubofsky and Miller, 2003) Long Hedge Short Hedge Change in value of position Change in price Change in value of position Change in price Fig.1 Hedging (Dubofsky, D and Miller, T. Jr. 2003) Forward Contracts- These involve buying or selling specific asset at a specific price at a specified time. It is basically a contract between two parties to trade a particular commodity or asset at a particular rate on a specified time. The buyer is said to be in ‘long position’ while the seller hols the ‘short position’. These are Over the Counter (OTC) Derivatives. These are used for locking-in the price and require no cash transfers in the beginning, thereby involve credit risks. Their main feature is the flexibility as forward contracts can be tailored as per the requirements of the traders. They are typically used to hedge the exchange rate risks. (Claessens, 1993) Futures- These are more standardized than the Forward contracts. They are traded at Foreign Exchanges. The standardized contract specifying the asset, price and delivery time is either bought or sold through broker. The delivery price depends on market and determined by the exchange. The default risk in futures is minimized due to clearinghouse. It acts as centred party and does the ‘marking to market’ of traders’ account; by doing profit-loss calculations daily. Initial margin amount is required and futures hence involve margin calls. Minimum credit risk is involved; but being standardized contracts, these cannot be tailored to individual demands. (Hinkelmann and  Swidler, 2004). Futures could be contracts on real assets for e.g. gold, oil, corn etc. or they could also be contracts of financial nature for e.g. currency, interest rates etc. (Tamiso and Freedman, 1995). Fig.2: Hedging through Futures. (Walsh, D. 1995) Options- The holder can buy from or sell to, the asset at a strike rate at a future maturity date. However the holder of the option has no moral obligation to do so. The cost of buying the option involves a premium which is to be paid up front. The option that enables the holder to buy an asset is called Call option while in Put option the holder is able to sell the asset. (Claessens, 1993) These can be bought Over the Counter (OTC) at a bank or can be exchange traded options. An American option could be exercised at any time before it expires. On the contrary, a European option has to be exercised on maturity. Option is normally executed when its strike price is less than price of the stock. However, is the price of the stock is less than the strike price; the holder will not execute the option. Black and Scholes (1973) gave the formula to determine the price of a European option. According to the formula, the value of Call option is given by: where The value of Put option is given by: P = Ke-r (T-t) – S + C = N(-d2) Ke-r (T-t) – N(-d1) S. Where N (.) is a cumulative normal distribution function s- standard deviation of the share price, rf- risk-free interest rate per annum and t- time to expiry (in years). The above formula, also known as the Black-Scholes option pricing model; is based on the assumptions that the stock doesn’t pay any dividends, it is possible to buy or sell even a single share, there are no costs incurred in these transactions and that arbitrage opportunity doesn’t exist. According to Black and Scholes (1973), the option value as a function of the stock price is independent of the expected return of the stock. The expected return of the option, however, will depend upon the expected return of the stock. Hence as the price of underlying asset increases, the price of option will also increase owing to their linear relationship. Black and Scholes (1972) further carried on various empirical tests to validity of the formula. They observed that price paid by the buyers of the option was higher than that shown by the formula. This was mainly because the transaction costs that are incurred are always paid by the buyers of the options. These costs were found to be high for options of high risks and vice-versa. The sellers of options thus got the price that was predicted by the formula. The case study would make use of this formula to determine the value of options held by the company. Walsh David (1995) explains that options have a non-linear relation with payoff. Its payoff increases with the price of the asset if it is in-the-money and has a constant payoff which is the option premium if it is out-of-the-money. On the contrary, futures and forward contracts have a linear relation with the payoffs in both, profit as well as loss. Therefore options might be preferred over futures and forwards for hedging. He further highlights the difference between hedging through futures and forward contracts. While in forward contracts, the company merely sets up a rate for future trading, it doesn’t involve any monetary transfer. Futures however make use of margin account and marking to market is done daily. Hence the results of futures over their time span vary greatly with those of forward contracts. Hence the individual contributions of each to risk management would be calculated during the research. The case study would also include a study the similarities and diff erences in futures, forward contracts and options and their individual effects on risk management. Data and Methodology: Objectives: The research aims to: Increase the understanding of the factors that determine market risks. Understand the haven provided by financial derivatives against these risks. Have a clear understanding of the methods or risk management techniques. Understand the process of risk management. Understand the intricacies of derivative markets. Data and Methodology: The Research is essentially a case study of Vodafone Group Plc. Primary data would include the information of the forward contracts with service providers, options and futures of the company in the market. Secondary data would be Qualitative in nature, comprising online journals, relative case studies and books. The research would be carried out in the following steps: Depending upon the nature of company, determine that factors that would affect the risk faced by the company. Evaluate the percentage of risk faced by the company. Determine the amount of this risk, which the company would want to hedge. The data would then be utilised to determine the amount of risk hedged by each of the above and then determine the total risk hedged by portfolio as whole. Calculate the cost of hedging the risk. Compare and contrast the findings with the defined ‘Effective Risk Management.’ Critically analyze the results. Suggest improvements if any, in the portfolio. Calculate the risk hedged with the suggested changes. Proposed Timetable: Date Activity 6th May, 2011 Submission of final proposal (By) 20th June, 2011 Collection of data as required by case study and start working on calculations. 1st July, 2011 Define the parameters for ‘effective risk management’ and complete calculations. Complete the initial declaration pages of report. 15th July, 2011 Complete the literature review pertaining to case study. Finish report writing till that part. (up to 5000 words) 1st August, 2011 Compare and contrast the findings to the established parameters. Evaluate results. Some more relative literature review. 15th August, 2011 Finish writing the calculations, explaining results. Complete up to 10,000 words of report. 1st September, 2011 Complete the report and submit the first draft for feedback. 15th September, 2011 Redraft using the suggested changes. Final draft for submission 19th September, 2011 Final submission of the report. REFERENCES Alexander, C. (1996). The Handbook of Risk Management and Analysis. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons. Alexander, C. (2005). ‘The Present and Future of Financial Risk Management.’ Journal of Financial Econometrics, 3 (1), pp. 3-25. JSTOR (Online). Available at http://jfec.oxfordjournals.org/ (Accessed: 8th March, 2011). Berk, J and Demarzo, P. (2010). Corporate Finance. 2nd edn. Boston: Pearson. Black, F. and Scholes, M. (May Jun., 1973). ‘The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities.’ The Journal of Political Economy.81 (3) pp. 637-654. JSTOR (Online). Available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1831029.pdf?acceptTC=true (Accessed: 5th May, 2011). Black, F. and Scholes, M. (May 1972). ‘The Valuation of Option Contracts and a Test of Market Efficiency.’ The Journal of Finance.27 (2) pp 399-417. JSTOR (Online). Available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/2978484 (Accessed: 5th May, 2011). Claessens, S (1993). World Bank Technical Paper no 235.Washington DC: The World Bank. Dubofsky, D and Miller, T. Jr. (2003). Derivatives: Valuation and Risk Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hinkelmann, C  Ã‚  Swidler, S.  (2004). ‘Using futures contracts to hedge macroeconomic risk in the public sector.’ Derivatives Use, Trading Regulation.  10(1),  pp. 54-69. ABI/INFORM Global (Online) available at http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0did=679304171SrchMode=2sid=1Fmt=6VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1304643921clientId=18060 (Accessed: 21st March, 2011). McNeil, A.J., Frey, R., Embrechts, P. (2005) Quantitative Risk Management. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press. Oxford Dictionary (Online) available at http://oxforddictionaries.com/?attempted=true (Accessed: 21st March, 2011). Tamiso, R. Freedman, R. (1995). ‘Confronting Uncertainty: Intelligent Risk Management with Futures.’ Artificial Intelligence in the Capital Markets: State-of-the-Art Applications for Institutional Investors, Bankers and Traders, Probus Publishing, Chicago. pp. 209-222. Available at http://www.inductive.com/RMR-FUT.pdf . (Accessed: 4th May, 2011). Walsh, David.   (1995). ‘Risk management using derivative securities.’  Managerial Finance.  21(1),  pp. 43. ABI/INFORM Global (Online).  Available at http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=6did=4708471SrchMode=2sid=3Fmt=6VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1301258415clientId=18060 (Accessed: 27th March, 2011).

Drama coursework: response portfolio Scaramouche Jones :: essays research papers

Drama coursework: response portfolio Scaramouche Jones This year in year 10 G.C.S.E. drama we have been studying Justin Butchers play â€Å"Scaramouche Jones†. We read, discussed, developed and preformed certain parts of the play and using some of the explorative strategies of drama we gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of the play text that was explored. Before we began to read the play text we were put into groups of 2 and we were made to perform a one minute piece of a clown show. This sketch was based completely on our own interpretations of a clown act. This helped us to get into the character of a clown for what might have been our first time. For this piece I was put into a group with Stephanie Gorsach. We preformed a classic slap stick comedy clown act e.g. throwing imaginary pies and hitting each other. After we did this piece we began to read the play text for the first time. My first impression of the play was that it was very odd and was going to be incredibly boring. I was wrong! The first section of the play we explored was he opening scene. In the first section of the play we first meet Scaramouche Jones. We find out that he is a clown as he comes in from one of his many performances. Our first piece of performance was a 2 man show. It was the first scene of the play. For this piece I was put into a pair with Tashan Baptist. This piece was surprisingly hard for a first major piece as we had what I thought was a short time of 2 weeks to perform the piece. This was made even harder by the expectations of our teachers and the amount of pressure. This was our first introduction to the character of Scaramouche Jones. This piece helped me to experience the character for myself and after doing the slap stick clown act with Stephanie I could just about imagine how tired he would be at 100 years old. The next piece of development that we did was the thought tracking process. For this piece we were put into small groups and asked to act out what we thought Scaramouche would be feeling at that moment in time. Unfortunately I missed this lesson but I asked one of my class mates to help me by going over this with me.

A Comparison of Creon of Antigone and Jason of Medea Essay -- comparis

A Comparison of Creon of Antigone and Jason of Medea   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both of these two male characters are not title roles. They both fall prey to the actions of a woman, one whom they both originally thought they had complete control over. Antigone's martyrdom and conflict with the State brings Creon's destruction and Medea's double murder and infanticide brings his destruction. However, how much is this brought about through their own weakness and how much can we attribute this to a cruel fate? The issue is essentially whether a stronger person than Jason or Antigone could have avoided the destruction, and were they crushed by their own internal weakness ('hamartia'). An important to clarify is that we are not judging their personality. A despot can be a strong character and a man of high morals can be a weak character. The deciding factor is how rigidly they cling to their ideals and their ability to listen to others sensibly.    The gods cause Creon's destruction, acting in a just and logical way to the blasphemous deeds he committed. His destruction is very much in his own hands, despite the many warnings he receives from advisors such as Tiresias ("you have no business with the dead"), Haemon ("I see my father offending justice - wrong") and the Chorus ("could this possibly the work of the gods?" "good advice, Creon, take it now, you must"). He drives head long into it, ignoring those who counsel him. His inability to listen to others is very critical to his downfall, as we see in his rebukes to the Sentry for example ("Still talking? You talk too much!").   This is a fundamental weakness within his character. His stubbornness, as Tiresias, "brands you for stupidity". What appears in Creon's own eyes to be stern control ove... ...ennsylvania State University:USA Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Segal, Charles Paul. "Sophocles' Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone." In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Sophocles. Antigone. Translated by R. C. Jebb. The Internet Classic Archive. no pag. http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html "Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984. Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Zissos, Professor.   Classical Myth Lecture Notes.   July 20, 2001.   <http://ccwf.cc.utexasz.edu/~paz/myth/notes.html>.

Mexican/Latin American “War” on Drugs and Trafficking Essay -- Drugs,

The international drug trade from Latin American states is having an impact on a global scale. The trafficking of drugs along with corruptness and murder is an international conflict that is being fought daily. There are many aspects of the drug war from Mexico and other Latin American states which have effects on United States policy as well as policies from other countries that participate in the global suppression of illegal drugs. It can be hard to differentiate between conflict and issue in regards to Latin America’s drug war and International Relations. The Mexican drug war is a global issue because it interferes with the states ability to collaborate and form policy in order to address the issues between international borders. Conflict arises because certain states want to resolve the situation and are willing to do what is necessary to do so. While drug-related violence in Mexico receives considerable attention, the Northern Triangle of Latin America is far worse. Venezuela has emerged as a major departure point for cocaine trafficked to Europe. Between 2006 and 2008 over half of all detected maritime shipments of cocaine to Europe came from Venezuela. (Crime 2010) These ports in Latin America have had an impact on the cities in the Bahamas as well with the drug cartels exporting their drugs quicker to the surrounding countries; they use the ports of the Caribbean to refuel while on the way to Amer ica. The waters of the Caribbean islands are patrolled by navies from the United States, France, Canada and the Netherlands. (Barnes 2010) However, the patrolling of the waters has not had a significant impact in the delivery of drugs to other countries. As the international drug trade continues to spread and grow, Mexican dru... ...it is their states right to produce these illegal substances if they wish. Supply and demand also shows that as long as people are willing to do illegal drugs states and people will continue to produce them. The United Nations, an international organization, has set up an office called the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, this office is authorized to set up field based projects, research and analytical work, and normative work in the effort to counteract illegal drugs, crime, and terrorism. This office reports directly to the general assembly and is part of a larger Intergovernmental Organization. (U. N. Crime 1997) With this office and the principles of reciprocity, a response to another’s actions when states that help one another in times of trouble or need, governments across the globe are uniting their efforts to stop the trafficking of illegal drugs.

Alternative Breaks Essay

Alternative Breaks Essay 1. 2. I have always wanted to be able to give back to my community and my country. Getting an opportunity to be a part of Alternative Breaks will hopefully help me be a more active citizen. In addition, I want to be able to see another part of the world and broaden my experience by giving a helping hand. Staying in a different place and helping others will help me see the world from a whole different angle and will broaden my perspective about our world today and changes that are important to be implemented. I also hope to gain new insights and outlooks through new relationships that I will form.I want to be exposed to countless different experiences that may influence the rest of my life, and may influence me to make a positive change outside of just my community. 3. I have volunteered at a local hospital since my sophomore year of high school. I received a wide range of opportunities, from meeting family members at different areas of the hospital, to volunt eering in the emergency room, to also giving comfort to families in the hospice. In addition, I am very culturally oriented and try to be active in the Indian community.Every summer, I volunteer at an Indian Saturday school which I have attended since kindergarten. I teach students the Indian customs and Hindu religion, as well as how to further their reading and writing skills in Sanskrit. I was responsible for these children for a whole week, and took care of them as if they were my siblings. I spend my free time teaching kids how to do Indian classical dance. I love being active and able to give back to my community as much as I can, and I would love to broaden my experience throughout the country. . I am a very approachable and dedicated. I am a person that can be easily talked to in any situation. I love being able to give help to a person when needed, and I constantly stay on task. In addition, I try my best to put all of my effort into what I have to do, and strive to underst and other’s emotions. My volunteering experience has truly helped me cope with others and understand their feelings. I am sure that my stableness, perseverance, and commitment will guide me through overcoming any obstacle that I may encounter. 5.My biggest fear about going on an Alternative Breaks trip is that I will not be able to fully aid a person or a community as much as I want to. I love helping people, but it does make me sad when people are still not completely benefited with the service that I offer. I try my best to please others, however when I do not live up to my full potential, I begin to feel disheartened. I am prepared to be strong and do the best that I can for whom ever needs my help and guidance. I will hopefully take this weakness as a learning experience to becoming a better person, and hopefully continuing to provide aid to those in need.

An Analysis of Freud’s Critique of Religion Essay

In his book Future of an Illusion, Sigmund Freud critique uses his method of psychoanalysis on religion. By comparing the relationship between human and religion to that of a child and his parents Freud effectively demonstrates that religion is a product of the human mind. After exposing religion as a an illusion Freud concludes that humanity will be better off when it has forgone religion. This paper will argue that Freud’s assertion that religion is an illusion is correct because of it’s blatantly traceable evolution through the history of the human civilization and psyche. The first argument that Freud makes in his assault on religion regards civilization. Freud argues that human civilization arose as a result of mankind’s needs to protect itself from nature. â€Å"It was precisely because of these dangers with which nature threatens us that we came together and created civilization.† (Freud 19) As a result of the need for organization and manpower to prepare defenses against nature, the instincts of men had to be controlled. He furthers this argument by saying that two human traits, laziness and the unwilling nature of the masses to listen to reason are responsible for the necessity of the rule of law. Freud then describes the various methods of coercion that can be employed by civilization to halt instinctual privation. The most important of which he points out as being religion. The main reasons that Freud ranks religion as being/having been the most important tool in civilization are it’s ability to explain the various inequities and inexplicable phenomena that afflict human civilization. Freud points out how ancient civilizations used religion to â€Å"humanize† nature. By making these natural terrors beings that could be dealt with just like men it allowed people the chance to react to and have the illusion of influence on nature. He also illuminates with slight sarcasm how convenient religion is in it’s ability to rectify all the trials and tribulations of life for us. â€Å"Everything that happens in this world is an expression of the intentions of an intelligence superior to us, which in the end, though its ways and byways are difficult to follow, orders everything for the best.† (Freud 23) The existence of this divine creature who creates justice for us ensures that the masses will not stray from the laws and tenets of religion  and society for fear of being judged by this entity. Religion is also valuable to civilization for it’s ability to explain death. Thanks to religion, death became something other than simply the termination of a life. Death stopped being the end and was recasted into the role of a doorway to another existence. As though knowing that the continuation of life were not enough, religion furthers it’s own appeal by promising that the afterlife will be better than life on Earth. The afterlife itself also serves a function as well. A desire to gain entry into this afterlife will cause many of the masses to renounce their instincts. Another argument Freud makes is how religion is an attempt to fill in the gaps where civilization and the pursuit of life cannot make individuals happy. He says that, â€Å"The urge to rectify the shortcomings of civilization which made themselves painfully felt† is fulfilled by religion. (Freud 27) This can be seen throughout modern society in many different forms. It is telling that quite often individuals who are extremely ill, paralyzed, poor, or otherwise frowned upon by civilization and culture tend to be more religious. Later Freud turns his argument to the legal historical proof surrounding religions. Using an analogy of a child learning geography and simply accepting on faith that the places he sees on a map exist rather than going on a journey around the world, Freud attacks religious doctrines. He does this by pointing out that though the child takes on faith what he sees on the map, he could take a journey around the world and see for himself that these places indeed exist. He then applies this same manner of thinking to religious doctrines when he asks what these kind of claims these doctrines are founded on and why we should believe them? The answers he says are that they were believed by our ancestors and that it is forbidden to question them. Freud points out that it is the latter point which highlights society’s own awareness of â€Å"the insecurity of the claim it makes on behalf of its religious doctrines.† (Freud 33) The own paranoia that religions have of even questioned shows how much they realize that their beliefs do not follow reason. As Freud shows us the early church recognized this all too well when it instituted a doctrine that maintained that religious doctrines  do fall under the microscope of reason. The most common religious document of all time, The Bible, holds a particular Proverb that further illustrates the paranoia or religion against reason. â€Å"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding†. (Proverbs 3:5) Another important concept that Freud uses to critique religion can be found in his broad background in psychology. He alludes greatly the Oedipus complex in his dealings with God and the individual. According to Freud, humankind is similar to a child who needs to be protected and supported in his/her everyday life, thus he/she sees God as supportive, protective father. Freud gives his own theories far too much justice in this regard. One does not need to regard God as a father-figure to believe in him. There are many people who believe in God but do not accept God as a beneficent omnipotent being. However, we cannot say that Freud in his genius could not apply psychoanalysis to these other divinations of God and rectify them to individual situations. Freud’s best argument in favor of religion’s existence as an illusion is when he describes the convenient nature of religion to particular times of civilization. Freud says that we know approximately at what periods and by what kind of men religious doctrines were created. He also argues that it is very telling how religion tells us almost exactly what we want to hear. â€Å"We shall tell ourselves that it would be very nice if there were a God who created the world and was a benevolent providence, and if there were a moral order in the universe and an afterlife; but it is a very striking fact that all this is exactly as we are bound to wish it to be.† (Freud 42) Freud’s assertion that religions are in fact illusions created to deceive men into reunouncing their instincts for the advancement of civilization is based entirely on generalizations about all religions. These generalizations, however, can be well supported when one looks back throughout history. Religion could easily be compared to a chameleon that changes it’s color to fit whatever the needs of civilization are to survive. It is ironic that religion can be traced throughout history as being so adaptable given the intransigent foundations of religion. Whether or not religions really are illusions as Freud’s ultimate conclusion states, there is undoubtedly a clear link between religion and the evolution of civilization. A fantastic example of religion changing it’s color in order to better fit the evolution of civilization can be seen in the ancient Order of the Knights of the Temple Mount or Knights Templar. The Knights Templar in the middle ages were created to be the shock troops for Europe’s holy war against the infidels. When this war was lost and the military arm of the knights were no longer needed, the organization was systematically eliminated. It’s leaders were charged with heresy and killed and it’s wealth was confiscated, simply because the organizations purpose no longer coincide with church doctrine. Another great example of religious adaptability can be seen in the evolution of Christianity in Rome. As the old religions in Rome were in decline and material decadence had taken over, Christianity appeared over the horizon as one of the saving graces of the Roman empire. As the threat from barbarians grew in on the empire’s borders grew, so did Christianity place in Rome. It was eventually elevated to being the state religion under the empire Diocletian. Even Christianity would not be able to save Rome from the barbarian hordes. In their hour of defeat Romans were undoubtedly able to pray and ask for salvation from Christ. It is interesting that such a doctrine would arise shortly before a time of annihilation. Finally, it is important to note the role of religion in capitalism. Capitalism, as pointed out by Marx, is a vastly unfavorable system of economy for many people. While some would argue that it allows people the freedom make their own destinies, others would say that capitalism traps some in a cycle of poverty. Either way, those who are born poor are in a highly disadvantaged situation to those who are rich. That is, in this world. With religion and the afterlife, all are on an equal playing field. In fact, the poor even have quite an advantage. â€Å"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God† (Matthew 19:24). This type of thinking has been fundamental for the stability of capitalism throughout history. No amount of earthly wealth  could ever compare to the golden paved streets of heaven and eternal bliss. Freud’s critique of religion demonstrates the disturbing correlations between religion and civilization and shows us the true motives behind religions existence. Freud proves that religion was a product of the human necessity to protect itself from nature and the need that arose from there to stop our own instincts from destroying our creations. In conclusion, Freud disproved the claims of religious doctrines as being divinely originated, but he did not disprove God. His belief that it was time for civilization to grow up from religion may be correct but it will never happen. Religion is far too embedded in civilization to ever be removed by simply showing the educated it’s true purpose. Like life on this planet, religion has adapted to whatever environment our 8000 year old civilization has placed it. Even if everyone knew religion to be nothing but an illusion, that knowledge alone would not be enough to make that illusion disappear from the psyche of humanity. People would have to have a conscious desire to not believe in religion for it to be eliminated. This desire to discover the truth would be outweighed by the desire of a majority of humanity to rectify the inexplicable world of death and injustice to their own lives.

Life Transitions Essay

The mesosystem is the second structure within Bronfenbrenner’s social ecological model. Bowes & Hayes (1999) describe the mesosystem as the interrelationships between the indivuduals in the microsystem. There is direct collaboration between the individual and their relationships between their microsystem, their behaviors, expectations and values may differ with different experiences (Bowes, Grace & Hayes 2012). Regarding my life transition, the relationships between home and school within the microsystem became stressful, causing a negative impact on myself. Though when looking at figure 2, it is evident that after the stressors had ceased, a strong positive relationship occurred. This example highlights how a negative relationship between two aspects of the microsystem can dramatically change and become a powerful mesosytem agents to the individual effecting their development. Other indirect relationships that still effect the individual are seen in the exosystem. Garbarino (1992) describes the exosystem as a setting in which the individual is not directly involved with, but still has an effect on them through the meso or microsystem. In terms of my life transition, the relationship with my father and his workplace from figure 1 does not affect me directly, though due to this my relationship with my father lessened throughout my transition to University for his working hours increased causing us to spend less time together. The outer most relationships shown in figures 1 and 2 are known as the macrosystem. According to Bowes, Grace & Hayes (2012) the macro system is the broad societal or cultural contexts, cultural beliefs systems and values that are passed through our micro and mesosystems. An example of my personal transition is the government fundings for rural students to study away from home which allowed my financial transition to be much smoother. The last key structure to Bronfenbrenner’ social ecological model is known as the chronosystem. The chronosystem emphasizes the individuals changes or in any of the ecological contexts of development over time (Shaffer & Kipp 2006). An example of my personal transition that was undertaken was the sudden death of my father. It not only changed myself as an individual, but will  continue to affect my across my life span. Harms (2010) created another multidimensional approach within Bronfenbrenner’s model which takes the individuals inner world into consideration as well as their environment. Both Harms and Bronfenbrenner’s models display that though there are different dimensions of the models, they are both connected to each other in multiple ways. Gibsons theoretical framework is another example of a perspective in human development. Both Bronfenbrenner and Gibsons theories involved the concept of there being a strong relationship between the individual and their environment, both have aspects that are focused in change over time Tudge, Gray, & Hogan (1997). Developmental niche is another example of a model based upon different dimentions. Harkness & Super, (1994) define a developmental niche as two processes that are unique to an individual. It is based upon three basic components, the physical and social settings, culturally regulated customs and the psychology of the individual an example of a developmental niche would be the individual and their close friends as it was formed from mutual interests. In addition, the relationships between the structures of an individual’s microsystem can also impact in a similar way. Furthermore when discussing individual development, the concepts of resilience and vulnerability must be seen as factors. In terms of my personal transition, I would haveoriginally been seen as vulnerable, though due to increasing protective factors such as new relationships being formed from my microsystem level, I then would have been deemed resilient as I was able to thrive and adapt to the new change (Miller, Osbahr, Boyd, Thomalla, Bharwani, Ziervogel,†¦ & Nelson 2010). Life transitions occur in individuals lives due to a psychological or environmental change in a particular time in their life. My personal transition that is being discussed was the move from highschool and my home town, to moving to Bendigo and commence University studies. Bronfenbrenners ecological model was used to demonstrate the changed faced in terms of Microsystems, Mesosystems, Exosystem and Macrosystems. There are many other contributing factors that influence an individual and their life changes,  from other theories such as Harms model, as well as Gibsons, to the vulnerability or resilience of the individual. When taking all these aspects into my personal transition, it is clearly shown that my relationships, psychological state and environment have all ended as positive and thus becoming a positive transition. References: Berry, J. O. (1995). Families and deinstitutionalization: An application of Bronfenbrenner’s social ecology model. Journal of Counseling & Development,73(4), 379-383. Bowes, J, M., Hayes, A. (1999). Children, families and communities: contexts and consequences. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Bowes, J., Grace, R,. & Hayes, A. (2012). The role of context in childrens development. Retrieved from: http://0-www.lib.latrobe.edu.au.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/ereserve/copyright2014/4140321.pdf Bronfenbrenner, U. (1999). Environments in developmental perspective: Theoretical and operational models. Measuring environment across the life span: Emerging methods and concepts, 3-28. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1997). Ecological models of human development. Readings on the development of children, 1993, 37-43. Garbarino, J. (1992). Children and families in the social environment (2nd ed.). New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (1994). The developmental niche: A theoretical framework for analyzing the household production of health. Social science & medicine, 38(2), 217-226. Harms, L (2010) Understanding human development: a multidimensional approach. Oxford University Press. Miller, F., Osbahr, H., Boyd, E., Thomalla, F., Bharwani, S., Ziervogel, G., †¦ & Nelson, D. (2010). Resilience and vulnerability: complementary or conflicting concepts?. Ecology & society, 15(3). Rosa, E. M., & Tudge, J. (2013). Urie bronfenbrenner’s theory of human development: Its evolution from ecology to bioecology. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 5(4), 243-258. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12022 Shaffer, D., & Kipp, K. (2006). Developmental psychology: Childhood and adolescence. Cengage Learning Swick, K. J., & Williams, R. D. (2006). An analysis of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological perspective for early childhood educators: Implications for working with families experiencing stress. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(5), 371-378. Tudge, J., Gray, J., & Hogan, D. M. (1997). Ecological perspectives in human development: A comparison of Gibson and Bronfenbrenner. Comparisons in human development: Understanding time and context, 72-105.

Sexuality, Corruption, and Power Dynamics in the Bloody Chamber

Sexuality, corruption and power dynamics in The Bloody Chamber Sexuality is a prevalent theme in Angela Carter’s story The Bloody Chamber. Sexual violence within a relationship often reveals aspects of each party’s identity and character as well as affects its power dynamics. Carter depicts sex both explicitly and implicitly in the story through the heroine’s own thoughts of her newfound sexuality and her sexual experiences with the Marquis.Carter’s implicit and explicit portrayals of sex and sexuality in The Bloody Chamber reflect changes in the power dynamic between the heroine and the Marquis throughout the text, develop the identity of the heroine and reveal aspects of the Marquis’ character, and challenge notions of gender. The first incident of an implicit portrayal of sexuality occurs during the narrator’s train ride away from her childhood home towards her new life with her future husband, the Marquis.No physical act of sex is describ ed, but it is the first time that the reader sees the heroine’s sensual side and departure from innocence through Carter’s use of sexual language. It is as if the train ride away from home symbolizes her departure from innocence and into womanhood. Carter uses words such as â€Å"ecstasy†, â€Å"burning†, â€Å"pistons thrusting†, shuddered†, and â€Å"throb† to convey the heroine’s newfound sexual arousal and her thoughts about sex.Carter’s description of the heroine’s â€Å"young girl’s pointed breasts and shoulders† depicts her innocence and virginity (Carter, 8), yet she is consumed with thoughts of sex. This contrast symbolizes the development of the heroine’s identity from childhood to womanhood. Implicit sexuality is also seen on the train ride when the heroine expresses her anticipation of sex. She says: â€Å"for the first time in my innocent and confined life, I sensed in myself a po tentiality for corruption that took my breath away. (Carter, 11). The heroine feels this way because of the way the Marquis watches her with an â€Å"assessing eye of a connoisseur inspecting horseflesh†, and sees for the first time the â€Å"carnal avarice† of the way he looks at her. The Marquis views her as a piece of meat; similar to the way a predator would eye his prey. From this scene, it is evident to the reader that the Marquis treats his women as possessions, and has a primal instinct regarding sexuality.The heroine has lived a sheltered, pure life and is completely new to such concepts as lust and sexual passion, but it is at this moment that she realizes the potential of becoming a woman susceptible to sexual domination and corruption. This scene reflects the power dynamic in the relationship stemming from the Marquis’ obvious desire for sexual possession, corruption, and control, and the heroine’s recognition of her impending sexual exploitat ion. The scene further develops the heroine’s identity towards becoming a woman.Despite the Marquis’ obvious misogyny, his actions excite the heroine because they make her feel as if she is a sexual and desirable being. She recounts his marriage proposal, and says: â€Å"When I said that I would marry him, not one muscle in his face stirred, but he let out a long, extinguished sigh. I thought: Oh! how he must want me! And it was as though the imponderable weight of his desire was a force I might not withstand, not by virtue of its violence but because of its very gravity. (Carter, 9) This quote shows how the heroine perceives the Marquis’ sigh as a sign that he is in love with her, when the more likely reality is that it is a sigh of victory, as if he has just conquered his latest possession. Regardless of these opposing interpretations, it is evident in the last line of this quote that the heroine senses the combination of sexual desire and violence inherent i n the Marquis’ character, and the harm it poses to her. Little does the heroine know how real the Marquis’ penchant for sex and violence is, and how he channels that desire towards the murder of women.The heroine seems accepting of the submissive role in her relationship with the Marquis, and the thought excites her. This assumption further reflects the power dynamic between the Marquis and his wife, as well as the gender roles that both characters embody. The Marquis fits the description of a power-hungry, domineering male, and the heroine that of a naive, innocent girl who obeys her husband. The heroine’s naivety is reflected when she says she is â€Å"bemused that, after those others, he should now have chosen me. She obviously does not understand that the reason he is not still in mourning for his last wife is because he murdered her. Carter’s explicit portrayal of sex occurs when the Marquis first shows the heroine the mirrored room and disrobes her . The heroine narrates the scene as if she is describing a rape, similar to the ones in the Marquis’ collection of pornographic paintings: â€Å"And when nothing but my scarlet, palpitating core remained, I saw, in the mirror, the living image of an etching by Rops from the collection he had shown me when our engagement permitted us to be alone together. (Carter, 15). When the Marquis later takes the heroine’s virginity, it is a form of punishment for the heroine’s disobedience in perusing his collection of books. This reveals the power dynamic that will present itself again in the story, of the Marquis setting the heroine up to disobey him, then punishing her. He makes her wear the choker of rubies as if it is a collar, kisses it before he kisses her, and â€Å"twines her hair into a rope† as if it is a weapon he could use to hurt her. These actions further exemplify the Marquis’ desire for violence and corruption enveloped in sex.Once the heroin e is no longer a virgin and the Marquis leaves the castle, the heroine takes on the role of woman of the house. The reader sees the development of the heroine’s identity, as her independence is revealed through solitary actions such as playing the piano, her true passion, and directing the staff. The heroine is portrayed as a woman who is in control of her domain, rather than a girl under the control of her husband, even though she is still very much trapped in the castle. Power dynamics shift once the heroine loses her virginity, because that was what defined her corruptibility, innocence and youth.The heroine and the reader also witness for the first time a Marquis who has had all the force and power knocked out of him. The narrator says â€Å"He lay beside me, felled like an oak, breathing stertorously, as if he had been fighting with me. In the course of that one-sided struggle, I had seen his deathly composure shatter like a porcelain vase flung against a wall; I had he ard him shriek and blaspheme at the orgasm. † (Carter, 18). Prior to this sexual experience, the heroine had never seen the Marquis be emptied of his composure or expose his vulnerability.She believes that she may have discovered the man underneath the powerful facade when she says â€Å"And perhaps I had seen his face without its mask; and perhaps I had not. † The Marquis is always so in control and holds power over the heroine, but she realizes that if his exterior is removed for a moment, he is not as powerful as he seems. This scene influences the power dynamic within the relationship, since the heroine is no longer convinced that the Marquis holds so much unquestionable authority over her.This transition in the power dynamic aids the heroine’s decision to disobey the Marquis’ instructions when he leaves. The heroine’s identity is further developed after the she discovers the bloody chamber and the Marquis returns to the castle. Now that she has discovered the truth about her husband and the fate of his previous wives, the narrator admits to herself that she is in true danger. â€Å"How could I know, indeed? Except that, in my heart, I’d always known its lord would be the death of me. † (Carter, 33).She is no longer an unknowing, innocent, uncorrupted girl, as she now knows who the Marquis truly is and what he plans to do to her, and she realizes there is nothing desirable about him or their relationship. The narrator realizes that she has played directly into the Marquis’ hands, and has â€Å"lost at that charade of innocence and vice in which he had engaged me. Lost, as the victim loses to the executioner. † (Carter, 34). The heroine has fallen for every trap that the Marquis has set for her, right up until her impending death.The power dynamics of the relationship shift at this moment in the story. The heroine has discovered the Marquis true intentions, so he no longer holds any secrets that she is unaware of. She sees him as the monster he is, and not as the powerful man he pretends to be. The narrator observes as the Marquis â€Å"raised his head and stared at me with his blind, shuttered eyes as though he did not recognize me, I felt a terrified pity for him, for this man who lived in such strange, secret places that, if I loved him enough to follow him, I should have to die† (Carter, 35).The heroine begins to pity the Marquis rather than fear him, and sees his loneliness underneath his powerful disguise. One could argue that the power dynamics truly shift in the heroine’s favor once her mother kills the Marquis, as he is destroyed, but the true shift takes place once the heroine discovers who the Marquis really is, because she no longer has any reason to obey him as a husband. Once the narrator realizes that she is not in a legitimate husband-wife relationship and her husband intends to murder her, there is no reason for her to act like a loving, faith ful wife or submit to this man.The end of the text shows how Carter challenges gender roles throughout the story. At the beginning, the heroine is portrayed as a naive girl who marries a man not because she’s sure she loves him, but because she’s sure she wants to marry him (Carter 8). The reader sees how she fits the notion of the inexperienced, submissive gender willing to obey a man and accept all the riches he offers her. The Marquis fits the notion of a masochistic, domineering male who sees women as objects and seeks to control them and entice them with wealth.However, by the end of the novel, the heroine outlives the Marquis and is no longer the object of a man’s desire for violence and sexual corruption. She marries a man who is blind and poor, so that he can neither objectify her for her beauty nor buy her love with money and gifts, and she no longer has any desire for these things. This change is seen when the narrator says: â€Å"We lead a quiet life , the three of us. I inherited, of course, enormous wealth but we have given most of it away to various charities. (Carter, 40). The Marquis has fallen from his position as a powerful, wealthy, controlling man, and in true feminist fashion, the heroine emerges the victor. Carter’s descriptions of implicit and explicit scenes of sex and sexuality involving the heroine and the Marquis illustrate the development of the two characters’ relationship with each other and the power dynamics involved, as well as their own identity transitions throughout the story.The reader witnesses the narrator’s journey from girlhood and her desire for sexual corruption, through her torture, submissiveness and sexual self-discovery, all the way until her assumption of power over the Marquis. The heroine defeats the preconceived notions of gender roles as her values and character are completely altered by the end of the story. The Bloody Chamber depicts the lethal combination of sexual ity and violence and the desire to be sexually corrupted without comprehending the implications and true nature of the relationship.